Be it an adult or a child, white teeth is something that we love to have. But there are times when our teeth get discoloured or stained. A lot of times it’s due to what we eat and drink. Sometimes, it goes beyond food. You might find that your child’s one or two teeth have turned darker than they are supposed to be. Discolouration of teeth in children or even babies happen due to many reasons. One of the most obvious ones is not brushing teeth properly. Let’s find out what are the other reasons why children’s teeth don’t stay white at times.

Causes of child’s discoloured teeth

It’s true that there are foods that can stain teeth and cause them to appear yellow. Discolouration of teeth can also be caused due to trauma to the tooth structure, says Dr Yadav. Even if you try your best, accidental injuries while playing can’t be prevented. Sometimes, children get their teeth fractured and since it’s visible, most of the moms seek dental care. However, when there is no visible injury, we tend to neglect it. Such teeth in the long run become dead and hence, discoloured.

There are many more reasons why discolouration of teeth in children happens. Some of them are as follows!

• Compromised oral hygiene
• Cavities
• Flouride stains
• Iron supplements stains

You can see this problem even in your baby. Dr Yadav says that baby tooth or primary teeth are whiter as compared to adult teeth. However, due to several reasons they can lose colour. At times, stains don’t go away even after brushing their teeth. This could mean any of the following conditions!

1. Medication use

Your child may be taking a medicine or supplements for their overall growth. Such medicines contain iron or vitamins which may lead to stained teeth.

2. Weak enamel

There are times when there is a defect in the formation of enamel. It is the outermost layer of a tooth, and such defects can lead to teeth being stained.

3. Excessive fluoride

Fluoridated water in baby food or formula increases the faint white lines in baby teeth.

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